Polish FA Chair Zbigniew Boniek said that Scottish Premiership side Celtic "hid" from calls and emails from Legia Warsaw about the "ineligible player that cost the Polish club their place in the Champions League," according to Oliver Todd of the London DAILY MAIL. Celtic was "gifted a place in the play-off round of Europe's top tier competition despite losing 6-1 on aggregate to Legia in the third qualifying round -- courtesy of an admin mistake with the victors bringing on an ineligible player." Legia was stripped of its Champions League status and Boniek claims Celtic "were unreachable as the saga unravelled, with calls and emails that could have seen their opponents put through ignored." Boniek said that Celtic's consent "would have seen Legia allowed to stay in the competition but Celtic simply disappeared off the radar on the day." Boniek said, "Had Celtic officially given up their place, Legia could have stayed in Champions League. Celtic were unreachable that day. Didn't return the calls or reply to e-mails. They just hid and waited." Legia is "expected to launch an appeal against UEFA's decision" (DAILY MAIL, 8/9).

English professional football has been warned it "faces a 'tsunami' of damaging legal claims that will cripple some clubs if managers continue to over-rule doctors and allow concussed players to play on," according to Sam Peters of the London DAILY MAIL. FA senior doctor Ian Beasley this week said the NFL's "massive legal settlement" with former players suffering from "early on-set dementia linked to head injuries" -- now in excess of £870M ($1.46B) -- has set a "precedent other sports would be foolish to ignore." The last EPL season saw an "alarming number of incidences where managers ignored team doctors and allowed concussed players to return to play." Beasley said, "Clubs need to be aware that if they make mistakes and something tragic happens to a player after their manager has over-ruled the medic then it’s the club and the manager who become liable. For smaller clubs, that could break them financially. We have to make sure they understand what the consequences are." Beasley added, "When you've got precedent of a tsunami [the NFL pay out] coming your way the best thing to do is to build your defense properly so you can withstand the tsunami. Because it could come our way, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that." Last week the FA announced its "head-injury guidelines, in conjunction with the Premier League and League Managers' Association" (DAILY MAIL, 8/9).

The Football Supporters' Federation said that EPL crowds could soon "die out" if ticket prices continue to rise, according to Duncan Geddes of the London INDEPENDENT. Football Supporters' Federation CEO Kevin Miles said that "English football risked losing an entire generation of young fans." The cost of top-flight football "has increased every year for more than a decade." This year, Premier League supporters will pay an average of £526 ($880) "for their club's lowest priced adult season ticket," an annual rise of 6.5%. Miles said, "Being a regular football supporter is a habit that's formed at a young age. If you keep raising prices, what you'll get when you look around the ground isn't what you had when you started, because you've priced out the whole generation -- you've broken that habit. And if the crowds keep aging, sooner or later they will die out." Last week, a study by budget advisers thinkmoney found that 18- to 24-year-olds "have an average annual disposable income" of £2,088 ($3,500). A season ticket "could now cost them up to a third of that," with Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and West Ham all charging more than £640 ($1,070) for their cheapest passes. Clubs in other European leagues, such as Germany's Bundesliga, "use their immense commercial income and cheap standing areas" -- outlawed in England -- to subsidize tickets for young people. German fans "can watch Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich all season" for only £104 ($170) -- less than the price of some tickets for a single Arsenal game. German football authorities "see the support of young and working-class fans as crucial." Tickets "are more affordable across the continent's top leagues." Last year, Serie A champion Juventus charged £291 for its cheapest pass while Barcelona and Real Madrid charged £172 and £177, respectively (INDEPENDENT, 8/10).

The Russian government approved Friday rules on subsidising construction of infrastructure for the 2018 football World Cup for a total of over 5.5 billion rubles ($151 million, 113 million euros).

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree setting out how regions hosting the matches can tap the funds under the government’s programme to support the World Cup.

While Russia successfully transformed the Black Sea resort of Sochi into a glittering sports venue to host February’s Winter Olympics, at a cost of over $50 billion, the World Cup presents an even bigger challenge as a radical overhaul is needed of sports, tourist and transport infrastructure in a string of under-developed regions across the vast country.

Some of the venues are already complete or well on schedule — but elsewhere work will be starting from scratch.

The programme has identified 28 projects including modernising the water and heating systems in cities hosting matches.

Officials have previously estimated that $20 billion will be needed to prepare for the World Cup, with about half coming from private investors and the other from regional government budgets.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/2018-world-cup-russia-okays-150m-subsidise/#sthash.c62nxceK.dpuf

The Russian government approved Friday rules on subsidising construction of infrastructure for the 2018 football World Cup for a total of over 5.5 billion rubles ($151 million, 113 million euros).

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree setting out how regions hosting the matches can tap the funds under the government’s programme to support the World Cup.

While Russia successfully transformed the Black Sea resort of Sochi into a glittering sports venue to host February’s Winter Olympics, at a cost of over $50 billion, the World Cup presents an even bigger challenge as a radical overhaul is needed of sports, tourist and transport infrastructure in a string of under-developed regions across the vast country.

Some of the venues are already complete or well on schedule — but elsewhere work will be starting from scratch.

The programme has identified 28 projects including modernising the water and heating systems in cities hosting matches.

Officials have previously estimated that $20 billion will be needed to prepare for the World Cup, with about half coming from private investors and the other from regional government budgets.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/2018-world-cup-russia-okays-150m-subsidise/#sthash.c62nxceK.dpuf

The Russian government "approved Friday rules on subsidizing
construction of infrastructure" for the 2018 World Cup for a
total of more than 5.5B rubles ($151M), according to the AFP. PM Dmitry Medvedev "signed a decree setting out how regions
hosting the matches can tap the funds" under the government’s program
to support the World Cup. While Russia successfully transformed
the Black Sea resort of Sochi into a sports venue to host
February’s Winter Olympics, at a cost of more than $50B, the World Cup
"presents an even bigger challenge as a radical overhaul is needed of
sports, tourist and transport infrastructure in a string of
under-developed regions across the vast country." Officials previously estimated that $20B "will be needed to prepare
for the World Cup, with about half coming from private investors and the
other from regional government budgets" (AFP, 8/8).
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